


oops

by sarah_x



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics), The Flash (Comics)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-16 22:27:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9292148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarah_x/pseuds/sarah_x
Summary: a run-in with captain cold leads to a surprising revelation.





	

“Holy crap!” Barry shouted, narrowly avoiding the cold beam as it curved past him and struck the side of a building. Barry let out a sigh of relief, glad no one was hurt, before turning back to Captain Cold.

“Just beat it, kid!” Cold said, and Barry barely heard him over the sound of the bank alarm echoing through four blocks of Central City. “You really got nothing better to do on a Saturday?”

“You’re getting sloppy in your old age, Snart, that blast could have hurt someone,” Barry smirked at him. “I thought the Rogues didn’t kill.”

Cold was panicking. This was a botched job and they both knew it. As it was, Barry was trying to fend off both Glider and Cold while Hal handled the rest of the Rogues – Weather Wizard, Heatwave, Mirror Master and Trickster.

“We don’t,” Cold retorted with a snort. “Just giving you a little lovetap is all.”

“Hey!” There was a shout from above and both Barry and Cold looked up to see Hal struggling to hold his construct against Weather Wizard’s onslaught. “Can we rap this up people?!”  

“Seriously, you brought him along? _Him?_ ” Cold shook his head.

“He was in the neighbourhood. It would have been rude not to.”

Barry raced at Cold while he was distracted by Hal and got a jab in the face before the other man could react. He hit Cold so hard that Barry heard Cold’s blue visor break with a sickening crack. Barry flinched at the sound. He had never liked being violent. Cold toppled onto the sidewalk, cradling his jaw.

Without even thinking, Barry extended his hand with a worried expression on his face, “Are you alright-?”

Barry let his guard down for a moment and Cold seized the opportunity. The next thing Barry knew, he was hit by an icy blast square in the stomach. It was enough to knock the window out of him. He doubled over and staggered backwards. It was so cold, it started to burn, and the only thing Barry wanted to do was get out of there. He knew he should have worn the new suit, the one Bruce had designed for him, but he’d been so excited that Hal was back on Earth, it had slipped his mind. He fell to his knees in the middle of the road. The pain was so intense, it brought tears to his eyes. Cold’s gun had obviously been upgraded.

“Barry!” Hal shrieked and the construct faltered. Weather Wizard created a huge gust of wind and before either Barry or Hal knew it, Green Lantern was whacked away from the battle like a swatted fly.

“Sorry kid,” Cold said and it sounded like he meant it, too. “But you know how it is. Sam, time to bounce.”

Mirror Master pulled his gun and aimed it at a store window. He shot the glass but it didn’t shatter, instead his mirror dimension shimmered before stabilizing and the Rogues piled in, taking some loot with them. Barry tried to react, to get up off his knees and follow them, but it hurt to even breathe never mind move. Cold stood over Barry but made no attempt to shoot him. Doing that would bring the whole Justice League, and by extension the superhero community, crashing down on the Rogues’ heads. Cold was smarter than that.

Heatwave hesitated in front of the mirror dimension and walked over to Cold, who was still watching Barry carefully, making sure all his partners got away before he made a move. “We should fry this son of a bitch up like bacon.” Heatwave sniggered and waved a fiery hand in front of Barry’s face mockingly.

“No,” Cold said. “That’s not how we do things. Go with the others.”

“Jesus Christ, Snart, when did you become such a limp dick-”

“Did I ask for your goddamn opinion, Mick?” Cold snapped, pushing Heatwave towards the mirror portal. “Shut your mouth and go before you really piss me off.”

Heatwave glowered at Cold once more, before spitting on the road beside Barry and disappearing into the pocket dimension. Cold watched him go, then turned back to Barry. He threw something onto the ground in front of Barry’s face. It was a folded up piece of paper. Barry unfurled it and the sudden flash of panic he felt made him drop it.

It was a letter. _The_ letter. The one he’d written to Hal and had intended to give to him before he went back to Oa. Then Hal had been pulled away two weeks early and it had sat in Barry’s dresser ever since…or so he thought. Now Cold had it and he knew… _oh god_ he knew everything. He knew Barry’s real name and he knew, which was strangely more terrifying to Barry, that he was in love with Hal. There was enough in that letter to surmise that Barry was the Flash and Hal was Green Lantern and that the Flash was in love with a Green Lantern.

For the first time in a long time, Barry was actually scared of Cold. He glanced up, almost hesitantly, expecting a smug grin or some kind of demand. There was an odd expression on Cold’s face. It was a calmness of sorts and maybe…understanding? Barry wasn’t sure. Cold’s lips tugged into a small smile.

“You dropped it the last time you kicked our asses. Figured you’d want it back,” He said and Barry was perplexed, Cold’s words clear despite the piercing bank alarm and the wailing police sirens in the distance. “Gotta say I read it. I’m nosy. But I didn’t show it to any of others. You’re welcome.”

Cold started to walk away and Barry pushed to his feet only to stagger back onto the road. “Wouldn’t do that if I were you, kid,” Cold turned to him as he strode towards the mirror dimension. “New tech. The more you move, the worse it gets.”

Barry was stunned and all he could say was, “Why?”

“Why?” Cold laughed. “I don’t care about your life unless it starts affecting mine. You do whatever the hell you want, just stay out of the Rogues’ way.”

He waved his cold gun at Barry as he disappeared into the mirror dimension. “Take care of yourself, Barry.”

Barry kneeled in the road in stunned silence for a few moments. Then he pushed past the pain to stand up, lounging against the hood of a car and hurriedly shoving the letter into his pocket.

Hal arrived a few minutes after Cold had left, decidedly furious. “Where the hell are they?” Hal asked, looking around the crime scene.

“Got away,” Barry shook his head and winced. “We’ll get them next time. You okay?”

Barry took the side of Hal’s face gently and tilted it to show a bloody mess down the left side of Hal’s face. “Collided with the road and slid down it for a little while. It’s worse than it looks. What about you?”

Hal’s anger melted into concern when he saw the patch of ice coating his torso. “Geez, Barry, we need to get you looked at.”

“Not back at the Watchtower,” Barry squeaked through gritted teeth as Hal tried to peel him off the hood. “Too far, hurts too much to move.”

“Sorry, Bar,” Hal said. “Snart tagged you, didn’t he? That son of a snowman bitch.”

Barry rolled his eyes. “Hal-”

“If you’d just floored him instead of wasting all that time chatting it up with the special snowflake maybe-”

“ _Hal_ -”

“No wonder that loser can’t even keep his own family together-”

“Hal!” Barry snapped and gripped his shoulder as he moved away from the car, aching with every step. “That’s enough!”

“Whatever,” Hal took Barry’s arm and put it over his shoulder to help him while they walked. “Let’s just get back to your apartment and get this shit off of you.”

Barry nodded and Hal created a saucer construct just as the CCPD police cruisers pulled up to the scene. They flew above the city for a few blocks and Barry debated telling Hal about the letter and what Cold knew about him. Hal had a right to know, code or not the Rogues were still supervillains and the knowledge in that letter was dangerous. He wasn’t sure Hal was ready to know about Barry’s feelings for him, either, especially since he was fresh out of another break-up with Carol. Man, he had screwed up this time.

A couple of minutes away from the apartment building, Hal floated down into an alleyway. Hal took his ring off and his lantern costume disappeared, giving way to his civilian clothes – weather-beaten jeans and a familiar flight jacket.

He fished the bag out from behind a dumpster that he’d hidden a trench coat in and put it on over the top of his uniform. Hal was smirking at him and Barry frowned, “What?”

“Nothing,” Hal said, still smiling as he ran a hand through his tousled brown hair. “You just look like somebody I had a fling with once.”

Barry took a few minutes to process what Hal had just said. Of all things, he didn’t need to be compared to Hal’s booty calls, especially not with his current feelings towards his best friend. “If it’s who I think it is I’m ashamed of you.”

“I’m ashamed of me, too,” Hal’s smile turned devilish. “But in the best possible way.”

“Gross.”

“Oh, I know.”

The building was quiet, which Barry was thankful for, as they climbed the stairs, one of Barry’s hand shaking on the railing and the other held by Hal. This had become a routine for them, though most of the time, it was Barry running Hal to the Watchtower infirmary after some big battle, considering Hal was definitely the more self-destructive one out of the pair of them. It was a little alien having Hal being the one looking after him for a change, but it wasn’t unwelcome.

They managed to stagger through the front door, where Barry promptly collapsed on the couch and instantly regretted it when he landed on his stomach. Hissing and whimpering, he rolled over and sat up and Hal was beside him almost immediately, warm brown eyes filled with worry. “Take it easy, Bar. You sure you don’t want to go to the hospital? Or the infirmary?”

“It’s fine,” Barry said, trying to reach around and unzip his costume. “Really, I’m fine dude, stop worrying.”

When Hal saw Barry was having some difficulty getting out of his costume, Hal placed a hand on Barry’s shoulder to steady him and pulled on the zip with the other. “Let me.” Hal said and Barry hoped Hal would mistake his shiver for an effect of the cold blast. Normally Barry would just vibrate out of the suit but considering how agonizing it was just moving normally, he couldn’t imagine vibrating his molecules would help in the slightest.

Shedding the red costume revealed some pretty nasty yellow and purpling bruises. Hal touched his torso and Barry flinched away. Hal stared at him, rightfully confused. Barry had never been so precious about being touched before. Hell, Hal had seen him naked so many times he’d lost track and vice versa.

“What’s wrong?” Hal asked.

“Nothing, just hurts, sorry,” Barry said. “Will you grab the first aid kit from the kitchen? You’re gunna need a bandage for your face.”

Hal touched the side of his face as if he’d forgotten his own injuries and frowned at the blood that coated his fingers. “Good idea. I’ll run you a bath, too. You’re gunna need to warm up after that blast.”

Barry nodded as Hal jogged to the kitchen. He sat in the couch, holding his head in his hands. What would his friends do? Well, Bruce would have his head for compromising a Leaguer’s secret identity, even if it wasn’t his own. Diana might kill her enemy to assure the safety of her loved ones and Barry definitely wasn’t killing Cold. Hal? Hal probably wouldn’t care. Barry cared, though. It mattered to him.

Barry rubbed his face when a framed picture of himself and Iris from happier times caught his eye. She seemed to stare up at him, as if in judgement.

“Don’t give me that look.”

“Bar, bath’s ready!”

Barry limped over and took off his underwear, sinking into the tub while Hal cleaned and bandaged his wound. “It doesn’t need stitches, does it?”

“Nah,” Hal said, turning back to Barry and sitting down on the floor beside the tub. “Plus, I’m not letting you anyway near me with a needle after the mess you made of my back the last time.”

“That was different!” Barry exclaimed, water sloshing over the side of the bath as he sat up suddenly in protest. “We were in the middle of a battle and you were bleeding out, I had to do something!”

“Whatever, dude, just know my back isn’t a game of operation-”

Barry splashed Hal, soaking his jeans with bubbly water. Hal yelped and didn’t react for a few seconds but when he did, Barry let out an “Oh, god” at the mischievous, mad grin on Hal’s face.

Before Barry knew what hit him, Hal had kicked off his boots and his flight jacket and was climbing into the bathtub in his t-shirt and jeans. Barry was wide-eyed but laughing as Hal practically fell on top of him, rubbing bubbles into his face.

“Get off me, jerk! Ow! Ow! Careful, wounded soldier here!”

“Say uncle!” Hal shrieked, trying to force the bubbles into Barry’s mouth. “Say it!”

“Alright! Alright!” Barry spluttered. “Uncle! Uncle! God, you’re such an asshole.”

“Yes,” Hal smiled in agreement before promptly sticking a wet, socked foot in Barry’s face. “But I’m your asshole.”

They settled down and, when they did, neither spoke but they both stared at each other as if they both wanted to say something.

“Hal, I need to-”

“Bar, I-”

They both stopped before Hal said, “No, you go on.”

Barry took a deep breath and tried to compose himself so he could give a well-rounded explanation of what had happened but, when he tried to speak, it just came out as word vomit, “Cold knows that I’m the Flash and you’re Green Lantern, I wrote a letter to you before you left for Oa with John and Guy and the other lanterns because I was too much of a coward to tell you myself that I – I – love you and want to be with you but you’re my best friend and I don’t want to ruin our friendship and, oh god, Hal, I was so stupid – I was so fucking stupid because I dropped the letter the last time I thought the Rogues and Cold picked it up and read it and he knows Hal he _knows_ and I-”

He was stopped by Hal who lurched forward and kissed him. Barry was so shocked he almost pulled away but Hal’s lips were so soft and he was so warm, Barry couldn’t help wrapping his arms around the other man and when Hal finally broke the kiss, Barry was hugged flat against him with his head resting on his best friend’s shoulder.  

“It’s okay, Barry, it’s okay,” Hal whispered, lips brushing against his ear. “All of it but especially the part where you said you…I love you, too, Barry.”

Barry pulled back, looking Hal full in the face, making sure this wasn’t another one of his little jokes. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, of course,” Hal said. “But like your said, you’re my best friend and I’m messy. I didn’t want to ruin that.”

“Hal, you could never ruin our friendship. Never, understand?” Hal nodded and kissed Barry again.

Barry grinned. “I could get used to this,” He said. “Just don’t tell Bruce about the Cold thing. He’ll kill me.”

“When have I ever told Bruce anything important, Barry,” Hal shook his head. “Don’t worry, he won’t know jack shit. You know, until I need to blackmail you or something – ow!”

Barry laughed as he shoved Hal back into the bathtub and Hal slipped, head dipping below the water and flailing enough to flood the bathroom floor.

Hal pulled himself up out of the water. “If you weren’t injured, I’d fight you right now.”

“Touché.”

“But you know…there might be some non-fighty things we could do in here. _Fun_ things.”

“Oh really?” Barry sounded sceptical but his smile was inviting. “Show me what you got then, Jordan.”


End file.
